Greetings,
I wasn't going to keep bombarding you with more information than you may
wish to have, but things have really deteriorated further here. although
the news reporters will tell you that "all is calm" and that the city is
"back to normal," in the minds of many of us here things will never go
back to the way they were. We have witnessed the police, supposed the
protect us, turn on their own people with brutality. People trying to get
out of their offices downtown last night were teargassed and hit by riot
police who seem drunk on their power. Hundreds of peaceful protesters are
currently being held in public buses at a detention center, outside in the
rain their lawyers have waited for 16 hours while being denied access to
their clients. It seems that the city of Seattle is trying to make up for
the initial embarassment of seeming to have been too "soft" on protesters
Tuesday and is now shaming itself by applying excessive force in a
seemingly arbitrary manner. When one news reporter yesterday asked the
sheriff on camera: "Today, exactly what are these violent acts you are
responding to?" he couldn't answer (there had been only peaceful chanting
and singing, and many protesters helped clean up the mess made by
unsanctioned vandalism the night before), but said: "Well, basically the
point is that today WE are in control of the streets." This is no longer
about the WTO but about the civil rights of all of us. It is shocking to
see how quickly the rights we take for granted can be swept away in a
phony "state of emergency" largely provoked by the authorities. Many
people I have talked to have said that poor people and people of color
have lived with this form of oppression for a long time but that they hope
this will wake up the rest of the public. "No one is free while others
are oppressed." Ylva in Seattle
On Thu, 2 Dec 1999, Habib Ghanim, Sr wrote:
> Thanks sister Ylva for the update
> Habib
>
> Ylva Hernlund wrote:
>
> > Greetings,
> > I just came from downtown Seattle which is currently considered a
> > "restricted access" zone. that means that no protests are allowed within
> > certain streets, but also regular citizens are being stopped, asked for
> > ID, searched and in many cases denied access to their city. The National
> > Guard is marching down the streets and police in riot gear are arresting
> > peaceful protesters by the busload. Many people have been teargassed and
> > shot with rubber bullets--this morning I photographed a young man whose
> > entire body was covered in bruises from rubber bullets. There is no
> > denying that a small number of people went nuts last night and engaged in
> > mindless stupid violence, looting and rioting (most do not appear to be
> > part of any organized protest whatsoever and some were apparently local
> > teenagers looking for an adrenaline high). As these images go out into
> > the global media, however, I hope that people will remember that this is
> > not all that is happening in our city. Wednesday, thousands of people
> > gathered for an interfaith service, organized by Jubilee 2000, calling for
> > debt relief and later formed a peaceful human chain around the opening WTO
> > reception, then symbolically breaking the chain of debt. Likewise,
> > yesterday something in the neighbourhood of 20,000
> > activists--environmental, human rights, labor--marched in peace and
> > dignity and focused on issues rather than media attention.
> > If anyone is interested in more information from "the front" e-mail me in
> > private, Ylva
> > On Wed, 1 Dec 1999, Tony Cisse wrote:
> >
> > > Jaajef wa G-L
> > >
> > > Some account of what is happening at the World Trade
> > > Organisation in Seattle. I wonder what the Gambia
> > > Government position is regarding these trade negotiations?
> > > Could anyone enlighten us?
> > >
> > >
> > > Yeenduleen ak jaama
> > >
> > > Tony
> > >
> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > > Salam folks, here's a taste of what's up in Seattle ...I will
> > > post more information,and eye wittness reports by the
> > > demonstrators themselves later tonight.
> > >
> > > power to the people!
> > >
> > > shut down world corporatization!
> > >
> > > Altaf
> > >
> > >
> > > ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
> > >
> > > Date sent: Tue,30 Nov 1999 17:42:25
> > >
> > > <
> > >
> > >
> > > The people rise... the bosses PANIC!
> > >
> > >
> > > This just in... (Nov.30) THE NATIONAL GUARD TO BE
> > > DEPLOYED IN SEATTLE!
> > >
> > >
> > > SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state Gov. Gary Locke
> > > agreed
> > > on Tuesday to send in the National Guard to remove
> > > anti-trade
> > > protesters as darkness fell on a day of violent
> > > demonstrations in
> > > the city, local television reported. The governor was
> > > responding to a
> > > request by Seattle Mayor Paul
> > >
> > > Schell, who said earlier that he was declaring a 7 p.m.
> > > curfew after
> > >
> > > protesters threw the first day of a World Trade Organization
> > > meeting into
> > >
> > > confusion, KIRO Channel 7 television said.
> > >
> > >
> > > -------------------
> > >
> > > Earlier...
> > >
> > >
> > > (Nov.30) The Independent Media Center is reporting that the
> > > Mayor
> > > of
> > >
> > > Seattle has declared downtown Seattle to be a CIVIL
> > > EMERGENCY. Seattle
> > >
> > > police have attacked demonstrators with tear gas and have
> > > fired
> > > rubber
> > >
> > > bullets into the crowds. Armored Personnel Carriers are on
> > > the
> > > streets. A
> > >
> > > curfew has been declared!
> > >
> > >
> > > Meanwhile, 75,000 thousand march in France to show their
> > > opposition to the
> > >
> > > WTO's meeting in Seattle, and several thousand protestors
> > > attempt
> > > to shut
> > >
> > > down London with their own anti-capitalist protests.
> > >
> > >
> > > The corporate media is under-reporting and distorting events
> > > as they
> > >
> > > continue to build in intensity. Don't listen to the lap dog
> > > press...
> > >
> > > bookmark the Media Center's Web site for full, accurate,
> > > details on
> > > what's
> > >
> > > happening on the streets of Seattle;
> > >
> > >
> > > http://www.indymedia.org/
> > >
> > >
> > > -------------------
> > >
> > > Tuesday November 30
> > >
> > > Protests Force WTO to Relocate, Delay Opening
> > >
> > >
> > > SEATTLE (Reuters) - Protests forced the World Trade
> > > Organization
> > > (WTO) on
> > >
> > > Tuesday to delay its opening ceremony for several hours and
> > >
> > > relocate to a
> > >
> > > more secure building.
> > >
> > >
> > > Thousands of protesters took up position in key places
> > > around
> > > downtown
> > >
> > > Seattle early on Tuesday, preventing delegates from leaving
> > > their
> > > hotels
> > >
> > > and from entering the Paramount Theater, where the opening
> > > ceremony was to
> > >
> > > have started at 10 a.m.
> > >
> > >
> > > Police firing canisters of tear gas, spraying pepper spray and
> > > firing
> > >
> > > small rubber pellets skirmished with protesters as they tried
> > > to
> > > clear the
> > >
> > > streets to allow the meeting to get underway. WTO Director-
> > > General Mike
> > >
> > > Moore told a half-empty theater that the decision to postpone
> > > the
> > > ceremony
> > >
> > > was taken by the U.S. government as host of the meeting.
> > > U.S.
> > > Trade
> > >
> > > Representative Charlene Barshefsky was among those kept
> > > in her
> > > room by the
> > >
> > > protests, U.S. and WTO officials said. [MY NOTE: clinton is
> > > expected to
> > >
> > > arrive in Seattle on Wednesday! The ONLY World "leader" to
> > > come
> > > to the WTO
> > >
> > > meeting!}-------------------
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > <nofill>
> > > Islam and Social Justice Page:
> > > http://www.wco.com/~altaf/altaf.html
> > >
> > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
> > > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> > >
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